ottenerle

Ottenerle is a grammatical form in Italian formed by the infinitive utilizzare ottenere with the third-person feminine plural clitic pronoun le attached. It functions as a non-finite verb construction meaning “to obtain them,” where the pronoun refers to feminine plural nouns identified in the discourse. Ottenerle is not a separate lexical item; it is the infinitive hosting a clitic pronoun.

Etymology and form: The base verb ott enere originates from ottenere (to obtain). The pronoun le marks feminine plural objects and attaches to the end of the infinitive, producing ottenerle. This attachment reflects Italian clitic-pronoun rules that allow object pronouns to be bound to non-finite verb forms under appropriate syntactic conditions.

Usage: Ottenerle occurs when a sentence requires a non-finite verb and a feminine plural object is referenced. It is common after verbs of volition or obligation, such as volere (to want), dovere (to have to), or potere (to be able to), as in sentences like “Voglio ottenerle entro venerdì” or “Dobbiamo ottenerle tutte prima della scadenza.” In many contexts, the spaced form ottenere le is also possible, but the clitic form ottenerle is standard in writing and common in speech.

Notes: In linguistic references, ottenerle is cited as an example of clitic attachment to an infinitive and illustrates how gender and number agreement with the object pronoun is expressed in non-finite verb forms. The feminine plural pronoun le corresponds to feminine plural nouns such as informazioni, cose, o soluzioni. The masculine equivalent would use li, as in ottenere li for masculine objects.

See also: Italian pronouns, clitic pronouns, infinitive construction, ottenere.